Control Kaama and Eliminate Holika, Dhundhi and Pootana - Message of Holi

What do Holika, Dhundhi, Pootana and Kaama Deva have in common?

Well, one festival which connects all these is the festival of colors, Holi.

In this post we will look at all the legends associated with Holi.

1. Holika

The most ‘popular’ event associated with Hoil is the burning of the demoness Holika. Infact the name ‘Holi’ is a shortened version of the name ‘Holika’.

Legend has it that there was a great king of Asuras called Hiranyakashipu. He pleased Lord Brahma with severe tapasya and got a boon that he could not be killed 'during day or night; inside the home or outside, not on earth or in the sky; neither by a man nor an animal; neither by astra nor by shastra'. He became so self obsessed that he forbid worship of any God and in fact declared himself as the ‘Master of one and all’. But such is Prabhu’s maya that his own son Prahlada turned out to be a great devotee of Lord Vishnu.

[caption id="attachment_699" align="aligncenter" width="254"] Hiranyakashyipu threatening Prahlad to stop worshiping Lord Vishnu[/caption]

Hiranyakashipu couldn’t digest the fact that his own blood was going against his wishes. After trying very hard to pursue Prahlad to stop worship of Vishnu, Hiranyakashyapu reached a stage where he thought that killing his son was the only solution to end this ‘revolt’.

[caption id="attachment_700" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Prahlad locked up with snakes[/caption]

He poisoned Prahlada; but the poison got converted to nectar in his mouth.

He ordered Prahlada to be trampled by elephants; but Prahlada remained unharmed.

He put Prahlada in a room with hungry, poisonous snakes; no damage was done to Prahlada.

He threw Prahlada down a cliff; Prahlada easily survived the fall.

Thus all of Hiranyakashipu's attempts to kill his son failed.

Finally, he decided to employ the services of his demoness sister Holika in order to ensure the killing of Prahlad.

Prahlad was made to sit on a pyre in the lap of Holika.

Now the logic behind this was that Holika had a boon that she couldn’t be burned by fire.

So the plan was to make Prahlada burn while Holika would be unaffected by the fire. Prahlada quietly went and sat on Holika’s lap. The only thing he constantly did was to take the name of the Almighty - 'Om Namo Narayana'.

[caption id="attachment_696" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Holika gets burnt in the fire and Prahlad remains unharmed[/caption]

When the pyre was lit, much against the expectations of people around, Holika  was affected by the heat of the fire and slowly her body perished. On the other hand Prahlad was untouched and unaffected by the fire.

This event is known as Holika Dahan.

[caption id="attachment_697" align="aligncenter" width="194"] Holika Dahan, on the eve of Holi[/caption]

Even today bonfires are lit on the eve of the Holi festival to commemorate Holika Dahan.

 

2. Dhundhi

In the kingdom of Prithu there was an ogress called Dhundhi.

Now Dhundhi, had a boon from Lord Shiva that she could not be killed by Gods, men nor suffer either from arms or from heat, cold or rain. These boons made her almost invincible. but there was a catch. She was also cursed by Lord Shiva that she would be in danger from young boys.

Because of this Dhundhi used to trouble little children in particular.

Prithu was alarmed by this terror of Dhundhi. He consulted a lot of people and a solution was arrived at. It was decided that on last full moon day of Phalguna, when the season of cold vanishes and summer begins, young boys with bits of wood in their hands would go out of their houses, collect a heap of wood and grass, set it on fire with mantras, clap their hands, go around the fire thrice, laugh, sing and by their noise and laughter Dhundhi would die.

The plan worked and since that day Holi is celebrated at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month Phalguna.

 

3. Pootana

This legend is about Pootana. Pootana was summoned by Kansa, ruler of the Vrishni kingdom to kill Krishna, his nephew, as it was foretold to Kansa that Devki's 8th son i.e. Sri Krishna would kill him.

Just like Hiranyakashipu had tried numerous times to kill Prahlad, Kansa also made a lot of attempts to kill Krishna.

One such attempt was through Pootana. Kansa called Pootana and ordered her to go down to Gokul immediately. Pootana assumed the disguise of a young beautiful woman and entered Krihsna’s home town. Somehow she managed to distract all the women of the town and while they were away from their babies Putana made the babies suck her breast which had been smeared with poison. Thus slowly and slowly all the new born babies of Gokul died. Finally when Pootana came into Nand and Yashoda’s house and made Krishna suck her breast, she was in for a surprise. Krishna squeezed her breasts and sucked her milk as well as her life.

[caption id="attachment_701" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Pootana's life sucked by Krishna[/caption]

Pootana couldn't bear the pain and went back to her real demonic form. She ran out of the house with Krishna still clinging to her. When the people of Gokul arrived at the place where Pootana fell, they were stunned to see small Krishna still alive and the dangerous Pootana dead.

The people of Gokul were releived that no harm had been done to Krishna and decided to hold a special celebration. Since then this celebration has become a part of the many legends associated with Holi.

This legend is particularly famous in the state of Goa.

 

4. Kaama Deva

Sati and Lord Shiva were happily married to each other. Once Sati’s father Daksha organised a yagya, but did not invite Sati or Shiva as he had an altercation with Shiva in the court of Brahma. But, Sati who wanted to attend the yagya, went even though Lord Shiva did not appreciate the idea. To here great anguish, Daksha ignored her presence and did not even offer a place for Shiva. Sati felt humiliated and was struck with profound grief. She jumped into the yagna fire and immolated herself.

Lord Shiva became extremely furious when he heard the news of Sati’s immolation. Carrying the body of Sati, Shiva began to perform Rudra Tandava (dance of destruction) and wiped out the kingdom of Daksha. Everybody was terrified as Shiva’s Tandava had the power to destroy the entire universe. In order to calm Lord Shiva, Vishnu severed Sati's body into 12 pieces and threw them on earth. It is said that wherever the pieces of Shakti’s body fell, there emerged a Shakti Peetha.

Lord Siva undertook rigorous penance and retired to the Himalayas. Sati took a re-birth as Parvati in the family of God Himalaya. She also started performing penance to break Shiva’s meditation and win his attention.

During this time a demon by the name of Tarkasur terrorized the Devtas and became the ruler of the world. Tarkasur had a boon that he could be only killed by the son of Lord Shiva.

[caption id="attachment_704" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Shiva opening Third-eye and turning Kaama Deva into ashes[/caption]

As Shiva was paying no heed to Parvati's tapasya, the Devtas requested Kaama Deva (also known as Madan) to accelerate the process of bringing together Shiva and Parvati. So Kamadeva shot his love-arrow on Shiva's heart. A deeply disturbed Lord Shiva opened his third eye and the fury of his third eye instantly turned Kamadeva into ashes. Kaama Deva's wife Rati requested Shiva  to restore her husband's life. Shiva agreed to Rati's request and granted immortality to Kamdev, but added that Kaamdeva would exist in a disembodied (free from a body) form. Since this day Kamadeva is also known as 'Ananga' or 'Atanu' (both meaning 'without body').

This event is celebrated as Kaama Dahan in southern parts of India.

 

Thus we see that Holi might be given any name, but the essence and message of Holi remains the same - eliminate and burn the negativities inside us (just like Holika, Dhundhi, Pootana and Kaama Deva were burnt) and lead a positive and colorful life.

Wishing all of you a very Happy Holi :)

 

 

 

 

 

The Great Night of Lord Shiva - Maha Shivratri

Om Tryambakam Yajamahe Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam
Urvarukamiva Bandhanan Mrityor Mukshiya Maamritat

Meaning - We meditate on the Three-eyed reality which permeates and nourishes all like a fragrance. May we be liberated from death for the sake of immortality, even as a cucumber is severed from bondage to the creeper.

Maha Shivratri is a Hindu festival celebrated every year in reverence of Lord Shiva.

Shivaratri literally means 'the great night of Shiva'.

It is celebrated every year on the 13th night/14th day of the Phalguna month of the Hindu calendar.

The festival is principally celebrated by offerings of Bael or Bilva/Vilvam leaves to Lord Shiva, all-day fasting and an all-night-long vigil.

Numerous legends are associated with the origin of Maha Shivratri.

1. Marriage of Shiva and Shakti

[caption id="attachment_674" align="aligncenter" width="298"] Shiva and Shakti[/caption]

Legend goes that once Lord Shiva and his wife Sati (or Shakti) were returning from sage Agastya’s ashram after listening to story of Ram. On their way through a forest, Shiva saw Lord Rama searching for his wife Sita who had been kidnapped by Ravana, the King of Lanka. Lord Shiva bowed his head in reverence to Lord Rama. Sati was surprised by Lord Shiva’s behavior and inquired why he was paying obeisance to a mere mortal. Shiva informed Sati that Rama was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Sati, however, was not satisfied with the reply and Lord asked her to go and verify the truth for herself.

Using her power to change forms, Sati took the form of Sita appeared before Rama. Lord Rama immediately recognized the true identity of the Goddess and asked, "Devi, why are you alone, where's Shiva?" At this, Sati realized the truth about Lord Ram. But, Sita was like a mother to Lord Shiva and since Sati took the form of Sita her status had changed. From that time, Shiva detached himself from her as a wife. Sati was sad with the change of attitude of Lord Shiva but she stayed on at Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva.

Later, Sati’s father Daksha organised a yagna, but did not invite Sati or Shiva as he had an altercation with Shiva in the court of Brahma. But, Sati who wanted to attend the Yagna, went even though Lord Shiva did not appreciate the idea. To hre great anguish, Daksha ignored her presence and did not even offer Prasad for Shiva. Sati felt humiliated and was struck with profound grief. She jumped into the yagna fire and immolated herself.

Lord Shiva became extremely furious when he heard the news of Sati’s immolation. Carrying the body of Sati, Shiva began to perform Rudra Tandava or the dance of destruction and wiped out the kingdom of Daksha. Everybody was terrified as Shiva’s Tandava had the power to destroy the entire universe. In order to calm Lord Shiva, Vishnu severed Sati's body into 12 pieces and threw them on earth.

Lord Siva was now alone undertook rigorous penance and retired to the Himalayas. Sati took a re-birth as Parvati in the family of God Himalaya. She performed penance to break Shiva’s meditation and win his attention. It is said that Parvati, who found it hard to break Shiva’s meditation seeked help of Kamadeva - the God of Love and Passion. Kaamadeva asked Parvati to dance in front of Shiva. When Parvati danced, Kaamadeva shot his arrow of passion at Shiva breaking his penance. Shiva became extremely infuriated and opening his third eye that reduced Kaamadeva to ashes. It was only after Kamadeva’s wife Rati’s pleading that Lord Shiva agreed to revive Kaamadeva.

Later, Parvati undertook severe penance to win over Shiva. Through her devotion and persuasion by sages devas, Parvati, also known as Uma, was finally able to lure Shiva into marriage and away from asceticism. Their marriage was solemnized a day before Amavasya in the month of Phalgun. This day of union of God Shiva and Parvati is celebrated as Mahashivratri every year.

2. Neelkantha and Samudra Manthan

[caption id="attachment_675" align="aligncenter" width="203"] Lord Shiva drinking Halahala[/caption]

During the Samudra Manthan, a pot of poison emerged from the ocean. (detailed post here) This terrified the Gods and demons as the poison was capable of destroying the entire world, and they ran to Shiva for help. To protect the world from its evil effects, Shiva drank the deathly poison but held it in his throat instead of swallowing it. This made his throat turn blue, and he was given the name Neelakantha, the blue-throated one. Shivaratri is the celebration of this event by which Shiva saved the world.

3. Lingam and the battle for 'Greatness'

Once the other two of the triads of Hindu Gods, Brahma and Vishnu, were fighting over who was the superior of the two. Horrified at the intensity of the battle, the other gods asked Shiva to intervene. To make them realize the futility of their fight, Shiva assumed the form of a huge column of fire in between Brahma and Vishnu. Awestruck by its magnitude, they decided to find one end each to establish supremacy over the other. Brahma assumed the form of a swan and went upwards and Vishnu as Varaha went into the earth. But light has no limit and though they searched for thousands of miles, neither could find the end. On his journey upwards, Brahma came across a Ketaki flower wafting down slowly. When asked where she had come from, the Ketaki replied that she had been placed at the top of the fiery column as an offering. Unable to find the uppermost limit, Brahma decided to end his search and take the flower as a witness.

At this, the angry Shiva revealed his true form. He punished Brahma for telling a lie, and cursed him that no one would ever pray to him. The Ketaki flower too was banned from being used as an offering for any worship, as she had testified falsely. Since it was on the 14th day in the dark half of the month of Phalguna that Shiva first manifested himself in the form of a Linga, the day is especially auspicious and is celebrated as Mahashivaratri. Worshipping Shiva on this day is believed to bestow one with happiness and prosperity.

4. Lord Shiva's Favourite Day

After Creation was complete, Parvati asked Lord Shiva which devotees and rituals pleased him the most. The Lord replied that the 14th night of the new moon, in the dark fortnight during the month of Phalgun, is his most favourite day. Parvati repeated these words to her friends, from whom the word spread over everywhere.

On this auspicious day, lets bow down to Bholenath and seek his blessings.

Har Har Mahadeva :)

CERN and Lord Nataraja

[caption id="attachment_659" align="aligncenter" width="244"] Nataraja - The Lord of Dance[/caption]

"It is the clearest image of the activity of God which any art or religion can boast of."

[caption id="attachment_664" align="aligncenter" width="210"] Statue of Nataraja at CERN[/caption]

In June 2004, an unusual new landmark was unveiled at CERN, the European Center for Research in Particle Physics in Geneva — a 2m tall statue of Lord Shiva in his Nataraja form. The statue, symbolizing Shiva's cosmic dance of creation and destruction acknowledged the profound significance of the metaphor of Shiva's dance for the cosmic dance of subatomic particles, which is observed and analyzed by CERN's physicists.

The man who started the discussion of the parallel between Shiva's dance and the dance of subatomic particles was Fritjof Capra, an Austrian-born American physicist and the founding director of the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, California. In an article titled "The Dance of Shiva: The Hindu View of Matter in the Light of Modern Physics" published in Main Currents in Modern Thought in 1972.

[caption id="attachment_660" align="aligncenter" width="195"] The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capara[/caption]

Shiva's cosmic dance then became a central metaphor in Capra's international bestseller The Tao of Physics, first published in 1975 and still in print in over 40 editions around the world.

"Fritjof Capra, in The Tao of Physics , seeks . . . an integration of the mathematical world view of modern physics and the mystical visions of Buddha and Krishna. Where others have failed miserably in trying to unite these seemingly different world views, Capra, a high-energy theorist, has succeeded admirably. I strongly recommend the book to both layman and scientist."

In the words of Mr. Capra -

"Modern physics has shown that the rhythm of creation and destruction is not only manifest in the turn of the seasons and in the birth and death of all living creatures, but is also the very essence of inorganic matter," and that "For the modern physicists, then, Shiva's dance is the dance of subatomic matter."

"Hundreds of years ago, Indian artists created visual images of dancing Shivas in a beautiful series of bronzes. In our time, physicists have used the most advanced technology to portray the patterns of the cosmic dance. The metaphor of the cosmic dance thus unifies ancient mythology, religious art and modern physics."

The place which helped Lord Shiva get rid of the heat when he drank the Halahala - Gosaikunda Lake

[caption id="attachment_653" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Lord Shiva drinking Halahala[/caption]

One of the products that came out of the Samudra Manthan was Halaha (poison). The poison was so powerful that it could annihilate the entire universe. And it was the Maha Yogi, Lord Shiva who came to the rescue of everyone and inhaled the poison. As a result, the color of Lord Shiva's neck turned blue giving him the name "Nilakanta" (the one with the blue throat). When the heat from the poison finally became unbearable for Lord Shiva, he used his trishul to dig for water, thus forming the Gosaikunda Lake.

[caption id="attachment_654" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Gosaikunda Lake[/caption]

Gosaikunda is an alpine freshwater oligotrophic lake in Langtang National Park, located at an altitude of 14,370 ft above sea level in the Rasuwa District of Nepal.

The lake melts and sips down to form the Trishuli river and remains frozen for six months in winter October to June. There are 108 lakes in this area, small to medium in size.

Hindu mythology attributes Gosaikunda as the abode of Hindu deities Lord Shiva and Goddess Gauri. Its holy waters are considered of particular significance during Gangadashahara and the sacred thread festival Janai Purnima when thousands of pilgrims from Nepal and India visit the area.

Gosaikunda is a significant place of interest in the Dhunche-Helambu trekking route.

How Rishi Durvasa's curse resulted in the 'Greatest Show on Earth - The Kumbh Mela'!

Rishi Durvasa holds a special place in the many lores of Hindu mythology.

To begin with he was the ‘avatar’ of Lord Shiva born to Atri and Anasuya.

He was extremely feared for his short temper. He didn’t think twice before giving a shraap (curse) to anyone who didn't please him.

[caption id="attachment_577" align="aligncenter" width="218"] Durvasa cursing Shakuntala[/caption]

Right from Ambaraisha to Shakuntala and even Lakshman ‘suffered’ due to his curse. (more on these stories later)

But the one person who was one of his earliest ‘victims’ and whose attempts to get back to what he had lost resulted in a series of events due to which millions of followers come together once in 12 years to wash away all their sins.

The individual I am talking about is Indra and it is the Kumbh Mela which resulted from curse Sage Durvasa had given Indra.

Let’s know more about this story today.

[caption id="attachment_578" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Vidyadhari giving the garland to Durvasa[/caption]

Once Durvasa was wandering on earth, when he came across a female Vidyadhari (a nymph of the air) who was wearing a beautiful garland of flowers. Seeing Durvasa being attracted to the garland the nymph respectfully gave it to the sage. When he came back from earth, the sage came across Indra riding his elephant, Airavata.

[caption id="attachment_579" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Indra riding on Airavata[/caption]

Durvasa presented the garland to Indra, who not sure of what to do with the garland placed it on Airavata's head. The elephant was irritated by the fragrance of the nectar in the flowers and threw the garland to the ground with its trunk and crushed it with his feet. Durvasa was enraged to see his gift treated so callously and immediately cursed Indra that he would be cast down from his position of dominion over the three worlds, just as the garland was cast down.

Indra immediately begged Durvasa's forgiveness, but the sage refused to retract or even soften his curse, and went on his way.

Because of the curse, Indra and the Devas were diminished in strength and shorn of their lustre. Seizing this opportunity, the Asuras led by Bali waged war against the gods. The Devtas were routed and turned to Brahma for help.

Brahma in turn directed them to seek refuge with Vishnu. Vishnu in turn gave the idea for the Samudra Manthan.

Stay tuned; the story becomes very interesting from here ;)

What roles do Shiva's Lingam, Ketaki flower, Sage Bhrigu and Daityas play in Brahmajee not being worshipped?

One of the most intriguing questions pertaining to Hindu mythology is that why Lord Brahma is not worshipped as much as the other two Lords in the holy trinity? Why does Brahma have a handful of temples dedicated to him while Vishnu and Shiva have infinite?

Let’s find out all the legends associated with this ‘mystery’!

1. According to the Shiv Purana, once Brahma and Vishnu had an argument on who was the most powerful amongst the Trimurti. The argument became so heated that the other gods asked Shiva, the third of the triad, to intervene. Shiva assumed the form of a gigantic lingam (the phallic symbol of Shiva). The lingam was of flaming fire and it went up to the heavens and descended into the nether regions underneath the earth. Both Brahma and Vishnu agreed that the one who finds out how enormous the fiery lingam was and where it ended will be considered the most powerful among the Trimurti.

Brahma took the form of a swan and went upwards along the length of the ascending lingam while Vishnu assumed the form of a boar and descended along the lingam into the nether regions.

Both went on and on but neither could reach the ends.

Vishnu, being very clever, realized that he had been outdone by Shiva and came back to acknowledge Shiva as the greatest of the triad.

[caption id="attachment_397" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Ketaki Flower[/caption]

Brahma, on the other hand, decided that he could get past Shiva with trickery. On his ascent to determine the end of the upper part of the lingam, Brahma passed the ketaki flower (Pandanus odorifer). Brahma requested ketaki to testify before Shiva that he had reached the uppermost end to which the flower agreed. When brought before Shiva, the flower told Shiva that he had observed Brahma reach the upper end of the lingam.

Shiva immediately found out about the lie and became very angry. He cursed Brahma with the horror of not ever being worshipped on earth. Also the ketaki flower was cursed with the depressing condition of never ever being used in any Hindu worshiping rituals.

2. According to the Matsya Purana, Shatarupa was known by different names, including Satarupa, Sarasvati, Sandhya or Brahmi.

When Brahma was creating the universe, he made a female deity known as Shatarupa (she of a hundred beautiful forms).

Brahma was immediately infatuated by the goddess's beauty and unable to contain his passion (kaam) pursued her wherever she went. Shatarupa did not want to be associated with carnal desire and moved in various directions to avoid his gaze but wherever she went, Brahma developed another head until he had four, one for each direction of the compass. Desperate, Shatarupa leaped over him to stay out of his gaze even for a moment. A fifth head, however, appeared above the others. Thus, Brahma developed five heads.
At this moment Shiva appeared, cut off the top head and determined that since Shatarupa was Brahma's daughter (being created by him), it was wrong and incestous of Brahma to become obsessed with her. He directed that there be no proper worship in India for the "unholy" Brahma. Thus, only the other two Gods of the Trimurti, Vishnu and Shiva continue to be worshipped, while Brahma is almost totally ignored. Ever since the incident, Brahma has been reciting the four Vedas, one from every mouth, in his attempt at repentance.

Another version of the story describes how all of the animals of all kinds in today's world were born. After Brahma had grown his fifth head Shatarupa had turned into a cow to avoid his lust. When Brahma found out he turned into a bull in order to continue to follow Shatarupa, eventually finding her. She hid in the form of another animal in order to quell his unnatural lust. But, alas, Brahma found out again and incarnated as the appropriate male animal. Again, she hid in the form of another animal. This continued until and Shiva finally ripped off one of Brahma's five heads to put an end to his lust.

[caption id="attachment_400" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Sage Bhrigu in Brahma Lok[/caption]

3. Once upon a time many great sages gathered at the bank of river Saraswati to participate in Maha yagya organized at that time. Maharishi Bhrigu was also present there. All the great saints and sages could not decide that out of the Trimurti - Lord Vishnu, Brahma and Shiv who is pre-eminent and to whom should they offer Pradhanta (Master) of that yagya. With the consent of all the great saints present there, it was decided that Maharishi Bhrigu will test and decide who was pre-eminent.

Upon being entrusted with the task Maharishi Bhrigu decided to test Lord Brahma first. He went on to see Lord Brahma in Brahmalok. On reaching Brahmalok Maharishi displayed utter disrespect to Lord Brahma on purpose. Lord Brahma got angry as Bhrigu was his son and wanted to punish Maharishi but Maha Saraswati, wife of Lord Brahma saved Maharishi from his anger (in some versions he himself composed himself to hide the anger). Angry with disrespect and not finding bRahma worth of being ‘Supreme’ Maharishi Bhrigu cursed Lord Brahma that no one will worship Brahma in Kaliyug.

In another version Brahmarshi Bhrigu cursed Brahma because when he went to Brahma to invite him for a Yagna he was deeply immersed in the music played by Saraswati and couldn't hear Bhrigu's calls.

4. According to the Bhavishya Purana certain 'daityas' or demons had begun to worship Brahma and therefore the 'devas' of heaven could not defeat them. In order to mislead the daityas from the worship of Brahma, Vishnu appeared on Earth, as Buddha and Mahavira. With various arguments he convinced the daityas to leave the worship of Brahma. Having left the worship of Brahma, the daityas lost power and were hence defeated.

In the next post we see what was Step 3 for Lord Brahma in the creation of the world.

Brahma's Step 2 - The Rudras create havoc

Before the Kumaras, Lord Brahma first created the five forms of agyaan (ignorance) :

1)    andhatamisra - the idea that one would die
2)    tamisra - indignation
3)    maha-moha - craving of infatuation
4)    moha - delusion of errors
5)    tamas  - absence of knowledge about one's own engagements

Seeing such a misleading creation as a sinful task, Brahma did not feel much pleasure in his activity, and therefore he purified himself by further meditation. Then he began another term of creation.

This resulted in the creation of the four Kumaras - Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana and Sanat-kumara.

But when these four refused to generate progeny, anger (krodh) was generated in the mind of Brahma.

Although he tried to curb his anger, out of his anger from between his eyebrows instantly a child who was red (for passion) and blue (for ignorance) was born.

The child cried loudly to his ‘father’ and requested him to designate him a name and a place.

“As you were crying out aloud the moment you were born, people will address you with the name Rudra”, Brahma pacified the child by first giving him a name.

“The heart, the senses, the air of life, the sky, the air, the fire, the water, the earth, the sun, the moon and austerity are places for your residence”.

“Manyu, Manu, Mahinasa, Mahan, Siva, Ṛtadhvaja, Ugrareta, Bhava, Kala, Vamadeva and Dhrtavrata are your 11 other names”

“Dhi, Dhrti, Rasala, Uma, Niyut, Sarpi, Ila, Ambika, Iravati, Svadha and Diksa are your eleven wives (the Rudranis).”

“You are the master of the living beings. Accept these different names and places and the wives belonging to them and increase the population on a large scale” Brahma asked Rudra.

Rudra generated unlimited sons and grandsons. All of them assembled together and attempted to devour the entire universe. When Brahma saw this he became afraid of the situation and requested Rudra to stop generating living entities of this destructive nature.

He advised his son Rudra to undergo penance which would result in creation of the universe as it was before.

Rudra took leave from his father and started performing austere penances.

Thus the second attempt also didn't yield desired dividends for Brahma.